Washing, cleaning, and caring for one's body is a basic human need, and modern industry is continually attempting to satisfy these needs of humans in a variety of ways. The lasting elimination, or at least reduction, of body odor and underarm perspiration is particularly important for daily hygiene. Numerous special deodorizing or antiperspirant body care agents are known in the related art, which were developed for use in body regions that have a high density of sweat glands, in particular in the axilla region. These are formulated in a wide variety of forms of administration, for example as powders, in stick form, as aerosol sprays, pump sprays, liquid and gel-like roll-on applications, creams, gels, and as saturated flexible substrates (deodorant wipes).
In addition to at least one oil or a fat substance and an odorous substance component or a perfume, cosmetic antiperspirants of the related art include at least one antiperspirant salt.
The antiperspirant salts used in antiperspirants decrease the secretion of sweat by the body by temporarily constricting or clogging the excretory ducts of the sweat glands, whereby the amount of sweat can be reduced by approximately 20 to 60 percent. Furthermore, they have an additionally deodorizing effect due to the antimicrobial action thereof.
The antiperspirant salt that is customarily used is activated basic aluminum and aluminum-zirconium halides, as they are described in documents EP 0308937 A2, EP 0183171 A2, U.S. Pat. No. 4,359,456 A, and EP 0191628. In addition, aluminum and aluminum-zirconium halides that are stabilized with organic acids as complexing ligands can be used, as they are disclosed in documents U.S. Pat. No. 3,542,919 A, U.S. Pat. No. 3,553,316 A, U.S. Pat. No. 3,991,176 A, and WO 2005/092795 A1, for example.
One disadvantage of the above-mentioned activated basic aluminum and aluminum-zirconium halides of the related art is that the polymer structure changes in an aqueous solution with an extended storage time and/or with the use of protic solvents, or that the action of non-activated, cost-effective aluminum salts is limited, whereby a significant reduction in the secretion of sweat by the body through a temporary constriction and/or clogging of the excretory ducts of the sweat glands cannot always be ensured.
A need therefore exists for antiperspirant cosmetic agents that exhibit no significant decrease in the antiperspirant action even during long storage periods and/or with the use of high amounts of protic solvents. Moreover, the antiperspirants should be cost-effective to produce.
It was the object of the present invention to provide an antiperspirant cosmetic agent that prevents, or at least lessens, the drawbacks from the related art and is able to ensure reliable clogging of the excretory ducts of the sweat glands even during extended storage periods and/or in the presence of protic solvents.
Surprisingly, it has now been found that the use of polyphosphoric acids in cosmetic agents that include antiperspirant aluminum salts results in significantly increased hydrogel formation of these agents at pH values that prevail exclusively within the excretory ducts of the sweat glands, thereby ensuring effective clogging of these excretory ducts. Due to the pH selectivity, hydrogel formation takes place neither in the antiperspirant cosmetic composition nor on the skin outside, so that the addition of the polyphosphoric acid does not cause a decreased efficacy of the antiperspirant cosmetic agent as a result of premature hydrogel formation.
Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the invention and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with this background of the invention.